The invention relates to tiltable sliding vehicle panel members. Preferred embodiments of the invention relate to tiltable, slidable vehicle roof panel members (i.e., vehicle roofs having an aperture closable by a sliding panel pivotable upwardly to extend from the fixed part of the roof in an "inclined" position and alternatively slidable below a fixed part of the roof to a "withdrawn" position) of the kind having a crank drive mechanism comprising a rotatable crank drivingly connected with said panel and being connected via a gear with a ratchet wheel having a concentric guide slot wherein engages a displaceably mounted pin to restrain rotation of the crank when the panel is in its closed position. Said roofs are referred to hereinafter as "tiltable sliding roofs of the kind referred to."
In a known tiltable sliding roof of the kind referred to (see German Offenlegeschrift No. 2,231,383) the ends of the guide slot form terminal abutments for the crank mechanism in the withdrawn and closed positions of the roof panel. In order to be able to tilt the roof panel the pin can be removed from the guide slot with the roof panel closed, so that the crank arm can be further rotated and the roof can be tilted open. In order to obtain an abutment for the crank mechanism with the roof panel in its inclined position, a second pin is coupled with the operating mechanism for the first pin. This second pin can engage in a second guide slot provided on the ratchet wheel, when the latter is in a corresponding position in the closed position of the roof panel. The end of the second guide slot forms an abutment for the second pin and determines the end of the tilting movement of the roof. This arrangement of two guide slots and two pins is costly.
An object of the invention is to provide a crank drive mechanism for a tiltable sliding roof of the kind referred to which provides the abutments necessary for the reliable operation of the roof panel in a more simple manner.
According to the invention, there is provided a tiltable sliding roof of the kind referred to wherein the guide slot has a first section which receives the pin during sliding movement of the roof panel and a second section which receives the pin during tilting movement of the roof panel, said sections overlapping in an interconnecting passage permitting displacement of the pin from one section to the other when the roof panel is in the closed position and the overlapped ends of the sections constituting respective abutments for the pin in the closed position of the roof panel.
In the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings, the other ends of the guide slot sections form abutments for the pin in the withdrawn position and in the inclined position of the roof panel respectively. However, other embodiments are contemplated where the tilting movement and the sliding movement are limited by other means.
By subdividing the guide slot into two sections, with one section associated with the sliding movement of the roof panel and the other with tilting movement of the roof panel, all the roof movements can be controlled by a single guide slot. Thus, both the movement of the roof from the inclined position into the closed position and for the movement of the roof from the withdrawn position into the closed position is limited by the same pin and the closed position can only be passed after moving the pin from one section into the other section.
Preferably, one section of the guide slot is arranged in one lateral surface of a ratchet wheel and the other section of the guide slot is arranged in the other lateral surface of the ratchet wheel, whereby the sections are interconnected at the point where the pin is located with the roof panel closed by means of an opening permitting the passing of the pin from one into the other section. The pin can thereby have a mushroom-shaped configuration, with a head diameter corresponding to the width of the first and second sections of the guide slot and with the first section of the guide slot extending into the area of the second section with a width corresponding to the diameter of the pin shank. The transition from the one to the other section of the guide slot then forms the above-mentioned abutment for the closed position of the roof.
The pin is preferably fixed at one end of a rocker pivoted to a spindle on which the ratchet wheel is rotatably mounted. The other end of the rocker carries a cam which cooperates with a control spring to secure the rocker in one or other positions of the pin.
In order to be able to fix the precise closed position of the roof despite manufacturing tolerances, it is preferable to provide a recess on the ratchet wheel in which a resiliently mounted arresting member engages when the ratchet wheel position corresponds to the closed position of the roof panel.
In order to be able to better absorb the forces which occur when the pin strikes on the ends of the guide slot or on the abutments determining the closed position of the roof, according to another preferred embodiment the pin is arranged so as to move axially in a fixed disk arranged concentrically relative to the ratchet wheel. This disk can with its outer surface simultaneously form the mounting for the ratchet wheel and also by means of a groove on one side and a recess on the other side of the ratchet wheel, form the guide slot for the pin.
In the case of such sliding roof drives, it is necessary for safety reasons to ensure that when not needed, the crank arm can be removed from the area of impact of the head. This can be achieved in simple manner according to the invention by providing a recess in the inner lining of the roof into which, in a particular circumferential position, the crank arm can be retracted. In the case of simple sliding roofs which are not tiltable there is no difficulty in bringing the crank into a position where it can be retracted into said recess because the sliding path of the sliding roof is sufficiently large that no significant sliding of the roof results from a forward or backward rotation of the crank arm which is necessary for bringing it into this position. However the short tilting path in the roof of the invention means that the rotation of the crank arm has a considerable effect on the roof panel position. To obviate this problem, the crank shaft is preferably connected with a toothed driven wheel located thereon via at least one stop member which permits a free rotation of the crank relative to the toothed wheel by an angular range of less than 360.degree.. As a result of this idle motion, the crank arm can be brought in any position of the sliding roof panel and without any movement of the roof panel into a position in which it can be retracted into the recess. In the vicinity of a lateral surface of the toothed wheel, the shaft preferably has a radially projecting pin which cooperates with at least one pin projecting from said lateral surface. In order to keep the idle motion of the crank as small as possible, two pins are preferably provided on the shaft or on the lateral surface of the toothed wheel which cooperate with a pin on the opposite member and permit an idle motion of for example 240.degree.. This idle motion arrangement of the crank according to the invention is not restricted to a crank drive mechanism according to the invention.
These and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, several embodiments in accordance with the present invention.